Divine Mercy Sunday 2013 marked
the third consecutive year that the Mater Ecclesiae College Choir
was invited to sing during the masses at the National
Shrine of the Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.Nestled in the Blue Mountains, the Shrine is cared for
by the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception, and has
been a home to pilgrims for over thirty years.

When asked how Regnum Christi became involved with
Divine Mercy Sunday, one could say it all started with
a simple song. In the fall of 2010, the consecrated
women living at Mater Ecclesiae College decided to take a
pilgrimage to the Divine Mercy Shrine in Stockbridge. Touched by
the beauty of the chapel at the Shrine, several of
the consecrated knelt before the image of the Divine Mercy
and began to sing.Volunteers from the Shrine
heard them singing and asked if the students were planning
to sing on Divine Mercy Sunday.The women
said they were just visiting on a pilgrimage.A few weeks later, those same students were surprised to
receive a formal invitation to do just that. One of
their professors at Mater Ecclesiae knew the Shrine’s rector from
her college days -- Father Anthony Gramlich -- who extended
a warm invitation to the students to sing at Divine
Mercy Sunday 2011.

The experience was a
positive one on both sides: so positive, in fact, that
the choir was invited back for the Divine Mercy Sunday

celebrations in 2012 and this year, April 7, 2013. For
those at Mater Ecclesiae, the celebration has become a family
event.Students not involved in the choir have
been invited to help with various liturgical roles in the
Divine Mercy Shrine ceremonies, serving as lectors, ushers, and other
various volunteer services.At the college, the professors
and students unable to come for the weekend make it
a tradition to watch (and tape) the EWTN broadcast of
the Mass.

Stockbridge has become a preferred
place of prayer for many Mater Ecclesiae students, who often
make the two-hour drive for a morning retreat or mini-pilgrimage.The students have become friends with other volunteers
and the Marian Fathers.The experience of Divine
Mercy Sunday has become for those at Mater Ecclesiae College
what it means to be part of the universal Catholic
Church.